


The Curse of House Carnall

by twofoldAxiom



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dark Family Secrets, Eccentric Disgraced Nobility, Epistolary, Gen, Gothic, Horror, Infidelity, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parody, Parody Taken Too Far, Psychological Horror, Small Towns, Thriller, epistolary novel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:02:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26229892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twofoldAxiom/pseuds/twofoldAxiom
Summary: Anne-Marie Langley has gone to work for the Carnalls of Camillia Hills, a once well-to-do family that's fallen on hard times. At first the inhabitants of the household seem genial enough, if somewhat odd: The housekeeper Mrs. Nightingale and her bags of biscuits, the enigmatic butler Hector appearing around every corner, and the inheritor of the household itself, the eccentric Levi Carnall.It's not long until she finds strange and terrible things afoot, however, from the low moans beneath the house to the murmurings of a curse, and the ever-present shade of Joshua Carnall. The estate holds years of family history in its walls, and Anne-Marie has found herself in the thick of its horrors.
Kudos: 1





	The Curse of House Carnall

**Author's Note:**

> I have some author's notes at the bottom but they contain some spoilers so don't feel the need to read them. Up here though, I'd like to say that this is a parody of gothic horror novels, and probably a really bad one. Most of the story will be told through letters, and each chapter will be a letter, though intermissions might be in my more usual prose style or letters written by the other characters. Also I'm still working on the other stuff, just slowly. Guess I needed a quick break?
> 
> Have fun!

To my dear sister Agatha,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm never sure how long these letters will take to reach you, much less at such a distance from home. It pains me to have to work so far away from everything I've ever known, but with mama succumbing to her consumption and papa leaving her for his mistress, that leaves the two of us to take care of her and little Abigail, and at least one of us was going to have to find better work than could be provided to us in the cold, cruel streets of London. What sort of elder sister would I be if I remained idle in such dire straits?

And so, my tenure at the mysterious Carnall estate is to begin tomorrow. I can hardly say I find the prospect exciting. The little town of Camillia is quaint, its inhabitants charming enough, and I find no trouble in speaking to them of home. Many are exceedingly eager to help me, even, and we converse with great ease. It is, however, rather notable that they go silent when I mention that I've come for work, and their heads cast down in concern when I mention exactly the nature of my new place of employment.

I heard them murmuring, dear sister, and I'm sure they're conversing downstairs about what misfortune may befall me in the Carnall estate. They weren't willing to share any rumors, but the clouds are rolling in as night falls, and I hear thunder in the distance; it's glum and cold already, and I shiver with a chill that reaches deep into my heart. If I were more superstitious, I would consider it an omen.

It's not a promising start to my journey, but I shall keep my head high knowing it's all for you, little Abigail, and dearest mama. I will write to you as often as I am able, and I hope in some way that you find comfort in knowing your elder sister is thinking of you beyond her pay.

Yours,

Anne-Marie Langley

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a jokey conversation between my brother and I about how he's going to grow old as the monstrous secret of a really cliche gothic horror, so we kinda ran with it and now two other people are helping me write this. The Carnalls are just my family and I, but repainted for a fake vaguely-European foresty type of place, probably in a fantasy rural England equivalent. Mrs. Nightingale is a stand-in for a good friend of mine (Madame Hardy here on Ao3), Manny is a family friend, and Hector is loosely based on some of my close friends and one of my cousins.
> 
> Anne-Marie is entirely fictional, and mostly made up of overactive imagination and Hapless Damsel Heroine tropes.


End file.
